Wimbledon hero Marcus Willis was among the tennis players who celebrated the completion of a major project in Cambourne with the opening of three new floodlit tennis courts.

Members of Cambourne Tennis Club have spent the last six years working tirelessly to get the new courts built in order to cope with their growing membership which previously had to make do with just two floodlit courts.

And to help them celebrate the momentous occasion was British No 12 Willis who made headlines in the summer when he played seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer on Centre Court after coming through three rounds of qualifying and a first round win over Ricardas Berankis.

Willis was joined by David Rice, a former professional who worked with Cambridgeshire coach Hamid Hejazi, and the pair put on a demonstration on the new courts before taking part in coaching sessions with the club’s junior players.

The completion of the courts marks an exciting time for the club, which has 190 members.

Former chairman Carl Gooch and a dedicated team from the club spent the last six years working towards the completion of the project, and Gooch was delighted to declare the courts officially open on Sunday.

The additional facilities will not only make it easier for members to get in court and play, it will also allow the club to offer more coaching and competitive tennis.

“It’s a fantastic day for all of us,” said Gooch.

“Now we’ve got the facilities we can really expand. It all elevates the club potentially to the same level as some of the larger clubs in Cambridge. The club will progress and membership will build.”

The club raised a lot of the money for the project, with additional funding from Cambridgeshire Lawn Tennis Association, Sport England’s Inspire Facilities scheme, Cambourne Parish Council, the Cambridgeshre Fund and Tennis4Cambridgeshire.

Gooch continued: “The parish council have taken a larger role in the project in the last three years and with their support we’ve done some other fundraising. We had help from Cambs LTA as well.

“Everyone can see the potential here but it’s a matter of having the capacity to be able to fulfil it.”

Current chairman Anna Springham who took on the role earlier this year added: “It’s been a very long process so it’s wonderful to be at this point. It’s going to make a tremendous difference to the club.

“Having additional courts will ensure we can expand and offer a lot more tennis locally.

“The next dream for us is a clubhouse which we’re now working towards. That’s very important.

“It’s early days yet but it’s going to be my big focus. Having a clubhouse will make the club feel even more family-like.”